CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees) Local 910 and other labour unions at Carleton held an information picket in a collective effort to protect pensions for all university employees on Oct. 16.
CUPE Local 910 is a skilled trade union whose members work for the Department of Facilities Management and Planning at Carleton. These workers maintain the residence buildings, classroom temperatures, and also clear snow on the walkways on campus and salt them.
According to CUPE Local 910 president Art Ullett, there are only 45 CUPE 910 members in the Department of Facilities Management and Planning at Carleton.
The contract between CUPE Local 910 and Carleton expired on Dec. 31, 2014, according to Ullett. After three years, they can renegotiate the terms of their work with the university. Currently they are bargaining a new collective agreement.
Ullett said it is through these bargains workers can make improvements to vacation time, benefits, disciplinary procedures, benefits, and pay.
He added the university wants to remove the rights of CUPE 910 to negotiate their pension contributions.
“Whatever raise we fought for, they could just pull it all back in pension contributions,” Ullett said.
The members of CUPE 910 would lose control over their retirement plans, which would instead be determined by the university’s Pension Committee.
Carleton’s director of labour relations, Robert Monti, said all unionized members are on a plan, called the necessary recovery plan, which was developed in response to the market crisis of 2008-09.
The necessary recovery plan was created to ensure a sustainable pension for current and future retirees.
According to Monti, the recovery plan is comprised of a series of recommendations made by the Pension Committee, on which union representatives from several locals have a place, and these changes were approved by the Board of Governors and brought in over 2011-12.
“They are protesting what is in their own interest and what their own member on the committee supported,” Monti said in an email.
Many of the other labour unions on campus are supporting CUPE Local 910 in their cause.
Griffin Hody and Stuart Ryan were two representatives from their respective labour unions who came out in support for CUPE Local 910. They said it was important that labour unions support each other.
“We want to make sure that we maintain pension fairness,” said Hody, a member of CUPE Local 2424.
CUPE Local 910 and their supporters were picketing at both entrances to the university, at Bronson and at Colonel By. They handed out informative flyers to passing students and drivers detailing their cause.
Campus Safety was not aware the picket was going on, according to Monti.
“That is a concern for us, as there are obvious risks with people standing in traffic,” Monti said, adding they want to do what they can to ensure the safety of picketers.
Ullett said he thinks the hard work of maintenance workers on campus should be acknowledged.
“We work hard and we make concessions over the years for salary to have a pension,” Ullett said.
